


can i make it any more obvious

by sevenbraincells



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Almost Canon-Compliant, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Comfort/Angst, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Meetings, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mystery, Rated Teen Because I Let Alex Say Fuck, Romantic Tension, Strangers to Lovers, Well More Comfort Than Hurt, Why The Fuck Is There Plot Now, it was supposed to be just fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27021853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenbraincells/pseuds/sevenbraincells
Summary: 10/10 Dermatologist Best Seller For White Teeth & A Cleansing and Mystifying Soul Read About a Punk and Guy  Who Did Ballet.Luke and Reggie didn't think Alex could flirt to save his life.But the skater boy he conveniently just met has absolutely no problems pretending to date him, to prove his friends wrong, and as they get closer...Well, it'd have been a lot easier if there hadn't been so much that they needed to figure out about the band's mysterious disappearance twenty-five years earlier.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 91
Kudos: 220





	1. this side of paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me editing this instead of writing a new chapter OR even just doing my homework. 
> 
> i made a playlist for this fic so the titles of the chapters are just going to be whatever song is playing when i finish writing the chapter. so yeah. vibes.

“You can’t be serious, Luke said, “you’ve got to be joking,”

He was standing there, in absolute disbelief, more than obviously trying to hold in a laugh. “There’s no way that actually happened.”

“I’m not.” Alex threw up his hands and jumped atop the piano. “It did.” 

“Hey bro,” Reggie started, from where he was sprawled out over the couch. “At least when you two, you know, you’ll have a pretty damn unique story about the first time you met.” 

Luke nodded in agreement. Alex, on the other hand…

“What do you mean, when we, ‘you know’?” He put quotation marks around you know, just to make sure  _ that  _ part was emphasized. 

“You’ve got a crush, man.” Luke said. 

“I-I don’t- we just-” Alex started, but Reggie cut him off before he could form a coherent sentence. 

“Yeah man, you should like, make a move or something. Well, definitely flirt with him first. ‘Cause like, you gotta test the waters, am I right?” 

“First of all,” Alex said, and Luke and Reggie groaned a little more than internally. “I don’t have a crush on him.”

“Uh huh,”

“Right,”

“Sure bro,” Luke said, lightly hitting Alex. 

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” Luke said, and he actually seemed so. 

Alex just let out of breath. “I am not going to flirt - or do anything - with the guy who fucking ran me over.” 

“With a  _ skateboard _ ,” Reggie clarified. 

“Why not?” Luke asked at the same time. “He’s cute. Like I’d totally f-”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” 

Luke raised his hands in surrender. 

“Oh, I see.” Reggie said, earning himself looks from both Alex and Luke. 

“See what?” They both asked, the same look on both of their faces. 

“You can’t flirt.” Reggie explained. 

“I- just,” Alex started.

He saw Luke look at him out of the corner of his eye, and for a second it seemed like Luke was thinking about saying something but ultimately decided against it. 

“Neither can you bro,” Alex finished. 

“So you’re not denying it.”

“Shit,” Alex whispered.

“Shit is right,” Reggie joked. 

“Oh come on guys,” Luke said. “We’re buddies, we’re pals-”

“We’re four years old, apparently.” Alex interrupted, and Reggie laughed. 

“We’re like family,” Luke finished. 

“Someone’s getting sappy-” Reggie teased.

Luke shushed him. 

“Always,” Alex whispered back. “It’s what we love about him.”

“You’ve got a point, my good sir,” Reggie mimed nodding a top hat at Alex, who let out a small chuckle. 

“Can I  _ please  _ have my moment now?” Luke asked, looking like a sad puppy. Because how else would he look. 

“Yeah,”

“Uh huh,”

“Sure,”

“Go for it,” 

“Good. Thank you.” Luke took a deep breath. “Like I was saying, we’re like family. Which means we help each other out. Okay? So if Alex has a crush on this dude, whose name he didn’t say  _ by the way _ , we’re gonna help him get his boyfriend. Right?”

“Oh my fucking god, how many times do I have to tell you that I do  _ not  _ have a crush on him?” 

“Ok.” Reggie said. 

“Ok?” Alex echoed. 

“So you don’t have a crush on him.” Reggie said. 

“Finally, I told you like-”

“But my point still stands.” 

Here’s the thing. Reggie was convinced that Alex couldn’t flirt to save his life. That wasn’t true, of course, but Reggie didn’t need to know the details. In fact, Alex would rather that no one did. 

“Reg, I swear-”

But Alex didn’t get to finish. 

Because Luke and Reggie both hooked one of their arms in Alex’s and started to walk. 

“No, we’re not kidnapping you again,” Luke answered before Alex could even say anything. 

“Good, because Child Protective Services is getting sick of the calls.”

Both Alex and Luke chuckled at that. 

“You are going to tell me where we’re going, right?” Alex looked between the two. “Right?”

“For a walk.”

“Thanks man, now I know everything,” Alex deadpanned. 

But he didn’t complain. 

It was nice, having the both of them physically by his side as opposed to just emotionally next to him. 

Eventually, they ended up not far from where Alex had met  _ him _ . 

But they couldn’t-they wouldn’t-it was just a coincidence. 

Of course. It  _ had  _ to be. 

Luke and Reggie weren’t that good of actors; if they knew, they’d have already given it away. 

All they were trying to do was help him. Their friend. 

They just wanted to push him in the ‘right’ direction, to test the waters. 

Make sure that he could flirt. Or rather,  _ still  _ flirt. It had been a while. 

“Okay,” Luke said, having the three of them stop at a  _ skate park _ . He rubbed his hands together.

“Yes?” Alex asked. 

“Here’s the plan,” Reggie said, “to test your flirting abilities.”

“This feels wrong.” Alex said.

“All that’s going to happen is that Luke and I are going to choose guys, and you’re going to say yes or no.”

“I believe there’s an app for that.”

“Yeah but nothing’s better than in person.”

“Except online I can actually see if they’re into dudes.”

“Bro, just trust me.”

“Would I be here if I didn’t?”

“Fair point.” 

“As I was saying-” Reggie continued- “There’s a catch. You only get to say no five times. So use them wisely.”

“That-that doesn’t make sense,” Alex looked over at Luke for backup, but Luke only shrugged. 

“Ready?”

“No.”

“Here we go,” Reggie started rubbing his hands together in excitement. 

Luke and Reggie were pointing out guys much slower than Alex expected. 

Though, to be fair, Alex didn’t even know what he was expecting. 

But no, every one of the guys they’d pointed out didn’t have the right vibe. They were either too much like Luke, too much like him or too much like Reggie. So he had no choice but to use up his five passes. 

Or swipes, if this wasn’t happening in real life. 

“What about that one?” Luke said, nodding towards a guy who was skating towards them. 

Alex sighed. (Again). “I don’t really have a choice now, do I?”

“No,” Reggie said, but he was smiling. “You do not.”

Alex walked over to the guy - whose face he hadn’t even seen, or the record - and he just seemed to have stopped as he saw Alex. 

Or something. 

“Hey man,” he greeted, “Sorry about earlier.”

Oh. 

“Uh-it’s alright.”

“You good?”

“I guess.”

“So what brings you here?” He titled his head to the side, and Alex looked where he was motioning - if it could be called that - “the view?”

The view in question was a girl skateboarding. Her outfit was fire, Alex noticed. Not literally, of course, but it was a really cool outfit. 

“Uh-no, actually,” Alex said, the words escaping him. “I just, uh, needed to clear my head.”

“Again?”

“Well, you running me over kind of stopped me from doing just that.” He said, hoping that he didn’t seem too bitter over it. 

Because he wasn’t, surprisingly. 

He laughed at that. Good, Alex thought, and he was glad that the guy didn’t absolute detest his guts or anything. “I did pancake you, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“So uh, you were, uh, clearing your head?”

“Yeah. I don’t know, it’s just - there’s a lot going on right now.”

“You overwhelmed?” 

“I guess, yeah.”

“C’mon,” the guy said, a smile on his face. A very...nice smile.

Alex was taken aback. “Uh, where?”

“The place I go when I get stressed.”

“Oh.”

“You coming or not?”

Alex just stood there, the other guy watching him with a curious look. Luke and Reggie weren’t anywhere in sight. 

“I-uh, I just don’t know your name.”

“Oh. It’s Willie,” The guy - Willie - stuck his hand out for Alex to shake. 

It was surprisingly soft. 

“I’m Alex.”

“Nice to meet you Alex,” Willie said. 

He still hadn’t let go of Alex’s hand. 

“Let’s go, shall we?”

Alex took a second to think. What was it that he wanted to do? He wanted to prove to Reggie that he could flirt, but he also didn’t want to mess things up with Willie. Because he could see a friend in him. 

A good friend. A  _ really  _ good one. 

So he came up with his own plan.

One that would let him hang out with Willie  _ and  _ convince Reggie that he actually had some game. 

He’d ask Willie to pretend to be his boyfriend, to prove a point to his friends. He wasn’t sure  _ how  _ he’d convince Willie to do it - money? a new skateboard? hanging out with him?

Or, hopefully less creepily, as a favour or something. 

“Why the fuck not?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm posting this because i need validation. comment. leave kudos. i am attention starved.  
> ok, i'm like half-kidding. but please, it all means so much to me!!! ly all!
> 
> also alex is a regular fuck-sayer. we better all agree on this right now.


	2. you know it

Willie took him to a museum. An _art_ museum. 

“You’re into art?” Alex asked, in disbelief. 

Willie chuckled at that. “Not really. I mean, I’m not, not into it. It can be, uh, nice to look at.”

“But that’s not why we’re here is it?” Alex asked. 

“No, no it’s not,” Willie smiled. 

“We’re sneaking in there, aren’t we?” Alex groaned, but he wasn’t actually upset. Sure, he wasn’t a fan of breaking the rules, but if he wanted to...that, he’d have to spend time with Willie.

And that meant doing what Willie liked. 

Like breaking into art museums. 

It was easier to get in than Alex had expected. 

“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” 

Willie smiled and laughed. “Yeah man, come on,”

“I’m not so sure about this,” Alex said, swaying back and forth with his hands in his pockets, but he was still following Willie wherever he went. 

“Trust me Alex,” Willie said, and held out his hand for Alex to take. 

He did. It was just as (surprisingly) soft as he remembered it. 

They ended up on the top of...something. 

“I come here whenever I get overwhelmed. It’s surprisingly calming, seeing the busy streets and palm trees and the sky and the hills in the distance. It’s a nice view, isn’t it?”

“Oh.”

“This isn’t what you were expecting.”

“No, it isn’t.” Alex said.

“So what _were_ you expecting?” 

Alex only shrugged, focusing his attention on the skyline. 

Willie was right. It was surprisingly calming. He was content to have stayed like that, his hand right next to Willie’s, looking out the window, but he could feel Willie’s eyes focused on him. 

“Promise me you won’t laugh?”

“Deal.”

“Ok. I kind of expected you to start skating around this place, you know, in between the art, on the blocks and all that.”

“Well, I do sometimes.”

“Oh.”

“But we just met, I don’t know, doing that is like a _date_ to me.”

Good. Dates. That was good. Alex could bring it up now.

“Speaking of dates, and no, not the fruit,” Alex started. “A couple of my friends were teasing me about my lack of ability to flirt, and well, they’re not exactly wrong, I just, I-” he took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask you if you could pretend to be my boyfriend, just so I can convince them that I don’t suck at flirting.”

Willie just laughed.

“I’m sorry, that was too direct, and we barely know each other, I’ll just get up and-” Alex was already standing up, distancing himself as far away from Willie as he could. 

“No,” Willie said, taking hold of Alex’s arm, gently. 

Alex just started down at it. In his defense, it was a pretty nice arm. 

“No?” Alex echoed.

“I’ll do it. Be your fake boyfriend, help convince your friends, the whole package.”

“Awesome. Great. Wonderful.” Alex began. “I should probably offer you something in return. You want me to buy you lunch, or like, something for skateboarding, or-”

Alex was sure to keep going, so Willie just interrupted him. 

“Nah man, all you have to do is hang out with me sometimes. To your friends, we’ll be boyfriends, but to us, we’ll be friends. Good friends.”

“Ok. Cool, I can do that. Actually, I’d love to do that.”

“Yeah. Sorry for cutting you off by the way.”

“It’s okay, I talk a lot when I’m anxious.”

“Do you do anything for it? Your-uh- anxiety?”

“I play the drums,” Alex offered, looking back at Willie who was now sitting down, his legs crossed in a way that looked _very_ comfortable. 

“Really man? That’s so cool!” Willie motioned for Alex to sit down next to him. 

“It is?”

“Of course it is bro. You could like, start a band.”

“I’m in one, actually. With two of my best friends.”

And a girl they met two weeks ago when they found themselves in her house - which looked _just_ like their old studio - one night, but h he didn’t mention that, nor did he know how to. 

“That’s actually...amazing. And I’m guessing these two best friends of yours are the same ones who said you can’t flirt.”

“Bingo,” Alex said, followed by an awkward attempt at finger guns. 

Willie smiled at him. Again. It was a contagious smile, and soon, they were both smiling and everything felt okay. 

“Since we’re doing this to convince your friends you aren’t awful at flirting,” Willie started, after a long - though not awkward - silence. “I can always give you some tips. That way, after all this blows over, you can still prove them wrong.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Bro, of course I would.” 

“I don’t think boyfriends call each other bro.”

“They could.”

“Fair point.” 

Willie stood up this time, and Alex just watched. 

“Where are you going?” He asked, when Willie was back near the entrance, seemingly ready to sneak back out. 

“To have some fun,”

Oh. 

Willie started skating, all the way from the entrance, to around and on top of the blocks. And Alex just watched, the whole entire time. 

Willie stopped, and looked back up at Alex. 

“Get over here,” he yelled, motioning with his arms. 

Alex couldn’t do anything but follow him, it seemed. 

He just watched, from the sidelines, not really getting it, but still, he was entertained.

“Wanna try?” Willie offered. 

Alex shook his head vigorously. Maybe a little _too_ vigorously too; he could feel the blood circulation in his head. 

“I’m good, thanks.”

Willie nodded. “Wanna get out of here then?”

“And go where?” Alex said, still feeling the blood in his head pulsing around, though it was just the tiniest bit.

“Anywhere we can talk. You like coffee?” Willie started, but continued before Alex could answer. “Scratch that coffee thing, you have anxiety, it’ll just make it worse. How about brunch?”

“Sounds good,” Alex answered.

“Sweet,” Willie said. “Let’s go.”

“Uh-now?” Alex hesitated. 

“When else?” Willie smiled. “There’s this place I know that has killer waffles, you’ve got to try them.”

Alex’s stomach grumbled at just the thought. “Lead the way, my prince charming.” He added the last part as a joke, but his face flushed so red he could’ve sworn a tomato could never compare. 

But Willie didn’t even seem to notice. 

He just reached for Alex’s hand. “Come on man, there’s so much you have to see. And smell, oh lord and  _ taste _ .” 

“Okay, okay, let’s go.”

They did, hand-in-hand the whole time that they walked to the place with killer waffles. 

That’s when Alex just knew that everything was going to work out in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote another chapter!! yay!!! i hope you don't hate it. as always, feel free to leave kudos and comment. (I EDITED A BIT TOO AND ILL TRY TO POST V E R Y SOON)
> 
> timeline of this fic explained (somewhat):  
> alex, luke and reggie are still from the 90s. except they didn't die. they just faded out of existence for twenty-five years. so bobby grew up, they met julie and started julie and the phantoms and all that. the only difference is that they're not actually dead and others can see and touch them.
> 
> and hey, isn't today a very good day to remember that alex is GAY and Not Attracted To Girls? yes i'm looking at you, those wattpad fanfics that make him bi. ew.


	3. why don't we go there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i listened to julie and the phantoms, one direction & 5 seconds of summer while writing this so it's definitely going to be something. 
> 
> ALSO THE TEENAGE DREAM COVER BY 5SOS GOES SO HARD OMG CAN'T BELIEVE I ONLY DISCOVERED IT TODAY

Willie was right. The waffles were  _ killer _ . 

But like, in a good way. 

He didn’t actually feel like he was going to die. Luckily. 

But mainly, they just used the waffle place as a starting point for their discussion. They both got to know each other.

Alex told Willie more about his bandmates - Luke and Reggie, that was - and he seemed genuinely interested. 

“So it’s just the three of you?” Willie asked. 

“We used to have a rhythm guitarist, but he uh-”

“Dipped?”

“I guess you could say that,” Alex nodded with a small smile. “There’s also this girl. Her name’s Julie.”

“Julie?” Willie said, and Alex could hear some sort of..something...in Willie’s voice; he just couldn’t quite identify what it was.

“Yeah, she’s um-she’s our new lead singer.”

“Oh, I see,” Willie said. 

Alex could tell that he didn’t. 

“We met her a couple of weeks ago, helped her get back into music and then we joined her band.”

“ _ Her  _ band?”

“Yeah, we have a new name now!” 

“What was your old one?”

“Sunset Curve.” Alex explained. 

Willie was taken aback at that. “Sunset Curve?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said, isn’t it?” Alex asked, trying not to be rude, but Willie was...worrying him.

Was he-did he-was there something-did they-

“Have you ever heard of Trevor Wilson?” Willie asked before Alex could drive himself off a cliff with his thoughts. 

Alex briefly remembered talking with Julie one day, and she mentioned something about sampling some music from that dude. 

“I think so,” Alex answered. 

“Come on,” Willie said, standing up and reaching out his arm. 

“Shouldn’t we pay?”

“It’s on the house, don’t worry. Just, come on.”

Alex sighed and took Willie’s hand. Again. 

So it seemed that they were really getting into the role of being each others boyfriend. 

At least it’d make it seem more realistic, for Luke and Reggie. 

Of course. 

Willie didn’t say where he was taking Alex, nor did Alex ask where he was taking him. He just...trusted Willie, for some reason.

They ended up in front of this huge building that looked almost like a hotel. 

“What is this place? A hotel- Does-”

“No, no, it’s Trevor Wilson’s place. It’s his mansion.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“And what are we doing here?” Alex asked. 

“Visiting an old friend.”

“Ok,”

“Just-come on,” Willie said, walking around the house and towards the back door.

“Should I ask why you know your way around this place?”

“Nah man,”

Willie said, and Alex just followed him. 

“I’m starting to think you have a thing for breaking in to places.”

“I might,” Willie said with a laugh. 

“Ok.” Alex sighed.

Alex just followed Willie into the house, careful not to be seen. 

“If we get arrested, I’m never talking to you again.”

“Deal,” Willie was  _ smiling _ , and  _ laughing _ . 

What was so funny?

“So what are we-” Alex said while he was walking next to Willie, who abruptly stopped, his hand grabbing Alex’s to stop him.

A man walked by. 

He didn’t notice them, luckily. 

“Who was that? He looks like a substitute teacher.” 

Willie let out a chuckle. “Trevor Wilson.”

“The-the  _ that  _ Trevor Wilson?”

“I’d say so.”

“He’s famous.” Alex noted. 

“He is,”

“He looks like my old bandmate.”

“Your rhythm guitarist?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s…”

Alex only nodded, and Willie finished. 

“How close do you think we can get to him?”

“How close do you wanna get?” Was Willie’s only answer. 

Which led to them making their way upstairs as quietly as they could, careful for no one to see them. 

Alex got a better look at Trevor this time. 

“Yeah, that’s definitely him. The rhythm guitarist.  _ Bobby _ .” 

“But he’s so...old.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re surprisingly chill about this.”

“Me and my bandmates kind of disappeared for twenty five years. Like, we just stopped existing. Then two weeks ago, bam! We’re in this sixteen-year-old’s girl’s garage.”

“Julie’s garage, right?”

Alex nodded. 

“And you didn’t try to investigate?”

“What’s the point?”

“I can think of a few,” 

“It’s just-I was 17 in 1995, you know? And...the world had a lot of growing to do. People, people like  _ me. _ , were getting sick and dying. I wasn’t allowed to get married. It wasn’t a safe place for women, or anyone who wasn’t-” Alex just gestured to himself, “you know.”

“So you’re just making the most of it?”

“That’s the plan.”

“And that um- includes asking a guy you barely know to pretend to be your boyfriend so that you can successfully lie to your friends about your flirting abilities?”

“Well, when you put it that way-” Alex joked, and Willie laughed again. 

Alex really liked the sound of Willie’s laugh. 

Wait, what?

They were  _ friends _ , and  _ fake  _ boyfriends. 

He didn’t actually like Willie. 

He  _ couldn’t  _ actually like Willie. 

He didn’t even know if Willie was...like him. 

And even if he was, it didn’t mean that Willie would  _ like  _ him. 

But something, or rather,  _ someone _ , interrupted his thoughts. 

It was a teenage girl.

“Who are you guys?”

Willie and Alex shared a look. Alex was sure that they were busted. 

“Your dad hired us, to uh-” Willie said. 

“Fix the shower, or some shit like that.” The girl said. “It’s through the hall, just...everything’s there.”

Alex was about to say thanks, a smile plastered on his face. 

“No, not that.” Willie interrupted. 

“Then why are you here?”

Willie glanced at Alex. “He’s here to give you drumming lessons. And I’m, uh, his assistant.”

The girl groaned. 

“I told him I didn’t want any, but whatever, the studio’s this way.”

She led the way, and the pair trailed behind, taking care to make sure that they were out of earshot. 

“Hey, Willie?”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t teach her to play the drums.”

“Yeah, you can.”

“No, I mean, I know that girl. She’s Julie’s like...ex-best friend. And  _ rival _ . I can’t teach her.”

“Oh.”

“So what do we do? We can’t exactly tell her that we lied.” 

“Oh, but we can,” Willie said, and he ran to catch up with the girl.

“Willie!” Alex yelled out, but Willie was already busy talking to her. 

He had no choice but to catch up with them.

Now that he was right next to her, she reminded him of someone he used to know. And no, it wasn’t Bobby. But it couldn’t be who he thought it was. Or could it? No-

“I don’t think admitting to breaking and entering is usually a good thing, if we’re being completely honest.” The girl said. 

“We didn’t  _ break  _ and enter though. Just enter.”

“Still illegal,” she rebutted. 

“Come on,  _ Carrie _ , please,” Willie said, and he was nearly begging.

“Fine. But you have to do me a favour.” 

“Anything,” Willie said.

She looked over to Alex. “You too.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me. I know you, you know-” The girl, Carrie, was still looking at him. “You’re a part of Julie’s band.”

“And you don’t like Julie, I know-”

“ _ I  _ don’t like Julie?” She laughed. “Julie doesn’t like  _ me _ .”

Alex thought back to the interactions between the two he’d seen. He could see why Julie didn’t like her, but then again, he did enter her house. 

“What do you need?” 

“Relationship advice.”

“What?” Alex said, and his jaw  _ physically _ felt like it was falling to the floor. 

“You heard me. Now sit down before I call my dad.”

Willie and Alex sat down next to each other in unison. 

Carrie, meanwhile, sat across from them. 

“Now,” Carrie started, “let’s say that I like this person. And I’m friends with them, and I have been for a while. How do I tell them without making things awkward?” 

Willie started. “I don’t-”

“You have to, take it easy. Remember that before you liked them as more than a friend, they were your friend. Remember that if you choose to tell them. And if something happens between you two, remember that there’s nothing wrong with being just friends.”

Both Carrie and Willie stared at him with near-matching experiences of shock. 

“Blondie’s got an interesting past,” Carrie leaned in. “Tell me more. What were they like?” 

“Alex,” Willie said, reminding Alex that he didn’t have to say anything. 

“He was uh, my bandmate,” He avoided making eye contact with Willie. This wasn’t the way he thought he’d tell Willie about...that. “We’d been friends since we were kids, and we both didn’t have the best relationships with our parents and got really close because of that...and yeah.” 

“The one who’s always wearing that flannel or leather jacket?”

“Reggie?” Alex said before he could think. “No, no, the other one.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Why’d you think it was flannel?” Alex couldn’t help but ask. 

Carrie shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he likes my crush.”

Oh.

Oh. 

Ohhhhhhhh. 

“Would it help if I told you he’s like that with everyone?” 

“Maybe. You don’t have to answer but um, did he have a think with the brunet too?”

Reggie? Luke? Alex held in a laugh. 

“No, not that I know of, at least.”

“Oh.” Carrie said. 

“Is that all?” Willie asked, getting up and getting Alex to do the same.

“No, uh,” Carrie hesitated. “Alex, can I show you something?” She stood up, and started to walk. 

“Can Willie come?”

“I just want to talk to you.” 

“Sorry man,” Alex said, and followed Carrie. 

She led them up to her bedroom.

It looked a lot more like Julie’s than he thought it would. 

“So, what’s up?”

“You’re cool,” Carrie said, sitting down on her bed.

“Thanks?”

“But there’s something weird going on here,” she said. 

“What do you mean?”

“I was looking through my attic last week, and phone some photo albums of my mom with her family.”

“Ok.” Alex said, when it was clear that she was taking a pause. 

She pulled something out of one of the drawers in her dresser. 

“And I saw this,” she said, opening it. It was a photo album. “A picture of my mom with her mom, dad and older brother.”

She pointed to the picture.

Oh. 

It was him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this chapter thinking i was going to do some worldbuilding and then really just pushed my caylie and past alexluke agenda onto it. and then the mystery came in. so thank you very fucking much to whoever came up with the 'alex's sister is carrie's mom' theory/headcanon because it lives in my head rent fucking free. 
> 
> and yeah, i think we all need a bit of that (developing) alex/carrie FRIENDship is because i need that mlm/wlw solidarity. (no this isn't because i relate too much and project onto carrie whATever dO YoU MeaN?)
> 
> as always, let me know if you loved/hated/liked it...or if you worship me, want to give me your firstborn, want to sacrifice me for the greater good....i'm open to anything tbh.


	4. voulez-vous

But that was an issue for later. He just shrugged, asking if they (meaning he and Willie) could come back another time and talk about it then. 

She smiled, saying of course, but Alex knew that the smile was fake. 

The more he looked at her, the more she looked like his sister. 

And that was, as Julie said when they’d first met, just too much. 

“Sorry,” He apologized, definitely not for the first time.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take it that you wouldn’t want me to tell my dad you stopped by?” She smiled, and once again, it was fake. 

“Come on,” Alex said, already talking like Willie, and opened his arms. “You look like you need a hug.”

She tried to pretend that she was reluctant, but he could see the pep in his step - like most things about her, it was just like what his sister used to do - as she walked into his open arms. 

“You’re not alone, I promise.” He started. “And if anyone ever makes you feel that way, I’ll fight them for you.”

She let out a laugh at that. It was just a weak chuckle, but it was enough for him to call it successful. 

He pulled away, not wanting to keep Willie waiting. 

She walked over to her drawer, putting the photo album away, and he had almost walked out of the door when he stopped.

“Oh and Carrie?”

She looked up at him. “Yeah?”

“I think Kayla might like you too. So just, as I’ve been told the phrase is, shoot your shot. It’ll all work out in the end”

“Thanks,” Carrie smiled, and it wasn’t so fake. 

“Yeah, uh,” he coughed lightly. “No problem.”

Carrie just nodded. 

“I’m gonna-I’m gonna go now.”

She just returned to looking through the drawers of her dresser. 

“Ok.” He turned back around. 

“Wait,” she said, and he looked back at her. “How’d you know her name?”

“Uh-Flynn.”

“Right. She and Julie still best friends?”

He nodded, and she sighed. 

He had a thought, but walked out of her room and was careful to keep an eye out for  _ Trevor Wilson _ . Because he wasn’t Bobby anymore. 

Instead, he bumped into Willie. 

Like full on, ran into him. 

At least, this time, Willie wasn’t skateboarding, Alex didn’t get pancaked and Willie’s board didn’t get dinged. 

So there was, uh, that. 

“Sorry,” Alex said, at the same time Willie did. “Where are you going?”

“I was looking for you,” Willie answered. “There’s another kid here. On the couch.” He whispered the second part. 

“Wait-what?”

Was it-could it be-

“Nick!” The pair heard Carrie call.

“Yeah?”

“Can you come up to my room for a second?”

“Are you sure your dad will be fine with that?” They heard Nick ask.

Willie was holding in a snicker, and after he saw the look on Willie’s face, Alex was doing the very same thing. 

“Just come up here!” Carrie all but yelled. 

The two guys allowed themself to lightly giggle at that. 

They heard him walk up the stairs. 

“She reminds me of me.” 

“Not your sister?”

“You were listening?” Alex asked, anger rising in his voice. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just- she’s the daughter of your former bandmate. And former, as in, I’m assuming something happened between you and not in a good way, former, 

“He just wasn’t with us when it happened. He didn’t  _ do  _ anything.”

“I believe you, and I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ve asked you so many favours, and you were just trying to look out for me. But next time, I’ll let you know if I’m worried. Deal?”

“Deal,” Willie said, “Hey, we should come up with a handshake. It’ll help sell it to your friends.”

“Yes,  _ please _ .” Alex said, and they did. 

After they left the mansion, of course. 

He didn’t want to risk Trevor seeing them. 

So they made their way back to the street where they first met. 

It didn’t take them long to come up with - and master - the handshake they’d come up with. But they still had to do it like  _ three hundred times _ . 

It wasn’t exactly an easy one; good things never were. 

And in the middle of a laugh that followed a particularly bad attempt, Alex took notice of their surroundings. 

“I’m starting to think you have a favourite street.”

“I spend time anywhere there’s a nice view.”

“Uh huh,” Alex said. 

“We should probably come up with a few answers for your friends. They seem like the interrogate-my-friends-significant-other type.”

“Yeah, we should.”

“Meet me at the skate park tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Alex used that as an excuse to do the handshake. 

What could he say? It was a rad handshake. 

“I’ve got to go though,” Alex said, “you know, band practice.”

“Yeah of course man,” Willie said with a smile. “See you soon,”

Alex just walked away from Willie after a little wave, definitely not overthinking any of his interactions from that day. 

“Dude, you’ve been gone all day!” Reggie said as Alex finally walked back into their stu- Julie’s garage. It still took some getting used to. 

“Sorry.”

Luke seemed to have noticed the look on his face. “Oh my god, you were with skater boy! So,” he leaned in, “how was it?”

“His name is  _ Willie _ , and it was fine, I guess.”

“Yeah, right, fine.” Reggie smirked. “I’ll believe that, hmm, never.”

“Yeah bro, you  _ so  _ like him.” Luke said with a smile. 

“We’re just-” Alex didn’t want to spoil the surprise yet. And what he was going to say wasn’t a lie, they were just friends. 

They were only  _ pretending  _ to be something more. 

“I’m happy for you dude, now you’ll get to practice your flirting.”

“Yeah man, you’re just a little  _ lot  _ rusty.”

“Oh will you shut up, Reggie?” Alex said, but there was no malice in his voice. “You trail around Julie’s dad like a lost puppy. I can have my own friends that aren’t you two.” 

“I-”

“And you and J-” Alex turned to Luke, who was invested in the little chat, but the very girl Julie was about to talk about walked into the room and clapped her hands together. 

“It’s rehearsal time, my homo-ies” 

“Don’t you mean homies?” Reggie asked, more than a little confused. 

Julie took a seat at her keyboard. “No.”

And that was that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god i love carrie. i hope you can tell.  
> and julie too :))))) god i love women. 
> 
> uh,,,,,i have a chem test tomorrow and barely know half the chapter and i wrote this,,,,so y'all better fucking comment (and maybe wish me good luck ????) >:(
> 
> ly'all.


	5. here it goes again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> little challenge for you: try and figure out how many times i had a miniature crisis about how in character the boys and their relationships with another were (which end up with me overcompensating).

Everyone seemed to notice that Alex was distracted. 

Alex was always a happy, positive person - and all of his friends could testify to that - but he seemed a little more happy than usual. 

He didn’t tease Reggie. 

He didn’t say anything about Luke cutting down the drum solos. 

(Though Julie did, so it was alright. They always had each other’s back.)

So when practice, which went by a little too easily, was over, and Julie had to study for a test or something - the three of them didn’t really know what it was she had left to do, they just wished her luck - the three boys were left to their own devices. 

And their own devices included Luke and Reggie teasing Alex. 

Julie had cut them short, and now they had the opportunity to tease him to their hearts desire. Which was, a lot.

“So when can we meet him?” Luke asked, breaking the awkward silence that followed a question that was a little too personal.

“You want to meet him?” Alex said, not sure whether he was nervous or excited for the answer to Luke’s question.

“Of course we do, man,” Luke said, going in for a bro hug with a smile. 

“Are-are you sure? I mean, it’s really new and I don’t know if it’ll-”

If you asked him, Alex could not tell you where his worries came from. 

Willie promised him that he’d pretend to be Alex’s boyfriend. It’s not like he was going to stop before Alex asked him too. 

Besides, he was  _ pretending _ . 

There was literally  _ nothing  _ for him to worry about. 

And yet there he was. Worrying. 

Luckily, before Alex spiraled too far, Luke cut him off. “No, come on. Let’s have like a double date or something.”

“A-a double date?” Alex asked. “You’re both single,”

“Thanks Captain Obvious,” 

“Reggie and I can pretend to be a couple.” Luke said, without even a quarter of a second of hesitation. 

Reggie flushed bright red. 

Was it warm in there or…

“W-what?” Reggie sputtered out. 

“Yeah bro,” Luke said, giving Reggie a little side hug. “If this Willie thinks that we’re his best friends, he’ll act different around us. But I’m sure,” Luke looked at Alex pointedly, “that whatever Alex said about us, he would  _ never  _ say that you and I are dating.”

It was true. 

He had just, kind of told both Willie and Carrie Wilson, Trevor’s kid,  _ Bobby’s _ kid, that he had a thing with one of his bandmates. 

“So what, are we going to pretend to not be in a band? No offense, but he’s not gonna buy-”

“No, we’ll just, like, pretend to be going out. Right, Reg?”

Luke nudged Reggie, but he wasn’t really responsive. 

“Uh-yeah, sure,” He eventually said. 

“Then it’s a plan,” Luke said.

Alex sighed, and his sigh was most certainly louder than what was necessary, but it was also exactly what the situation needed. “I’m coming up with the plan, aren’t I?”

“Yes, yes you are.”

“Later bro,” Luke said, but he only made his way to the couch, where Alex ended up joining him. 

“You’re helping me or I’m going to fucking kill you.” Alex said.

“We already disappeared for twenty-five years, I’m not missing any more of my life.”

“If I kill you, your life will be  _ over _ . You won’t ‘miss’ anything.”

Luke’s expression softened - not that it was ever serious, or mean, or anything, but there was something in it, that just, changed. 

“Alex,” he said, resting his hand on Alex’s. 

Alex looked down at Luke’s hand. “Thanks.”

Luke knew how Alex could get when he was anxious. Most of the time, Alex would pace around, go for some fresh air, jam out on the drums, but that didn’t always work. And sometimes he’d act a little different. 

And Luke knew that sometimes all Alex needed to help ground him was a bit of physical touch. It couldn’t fix anything - nothing really could, it was a mental  _ illness _ \- but it really made him feel a lot less alone. 

“We can take it slow,” Luke’s words rang through his mind.

Alex shook his head. “No, no, it’s fine.” 

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’ll uh-it’ll be fun to see you and Reggie pretend to be boyfriends.” Alex said with a laugh, starting to get up. 

Luke grabbed his arm. “Oh no, you’re definitely helping us with that.”

“No way.”

“You’re the only one here who knows what it’s like to be in a relationship with me!”

“The answer is still no.”

Luke groaned, and that’s when Reggie joined them. 

“Dude, it’s fine. We’ll work it out. It’ll be a peace of cake.”

“You’re surprisingly-”

“Cool,” Luke finished for Alex, “about this, given your immediate reaction.”

“Yeah, well,” Reggie said, his arm over his legs as he sat sprawled across the armchair. “Isn’t it Luke’s birthday soon? Doesn’t he deserve a little ego boost?”

“And he’ll get that from fake-dating his bandmate?” Alex questioned. 

“Course man, I’m a catch.”

Alex had to stop himself from making a comment about Reggie actually being the bait that was supposed to catch the fish and didn’t, but, that felt a little bit too mean. Just a teensy little bit. 

“Whatever,” Luke dismissed. “I just want to get to know Alex’s new boyfriend. Give him the scary best-friend and bandmate talk.” 

“You’d have to be scary to do that,” Alex pointed out, with a smile. 

“Oh fuck you,” 

***

Obviously, eventually they were able to work it out. 

They just needed Julie. 

Alex wanted to tell Julie the whole story, but he decided that he didn’t want to  _ just  _ yet. He reminded himself that it would probably - read: definitely - be easier to convince people if other people didn’t have to pretend, and decided against it.

For now, at least. 

It hadn’t taken him long to open up to her. They kind of just...clicked. 

As soon as she told him that she was bi, of course. He immediately took her under her wing and became her gay guardian. And she became his emotional support bi girl. 

So this was the first time since then that he was keeping something from her. He felt bad about it. Like, really bad. 

He hoped that this wouldn’t last long and that he could come clean, but deep down, he doubted that being possible. 

But, on the bright side, as soon as they had Julie, Luke and Reggie had completely nailed their couple dynamic.

It was surprising, how believable they were. 

Alex just hoped that he and Willie were a bit  _ more  _ believable than that. 

He made a mental note to go on a couple more practice dates with Willie. 

Just for believability. 

Of course. 

Alex glanced at Julie, trying to see what she was thinking. She glanced back at him, and they shared a look with a smile. 

“Not gonna lie, Reggie’s pretty good at faking chemistry with someone,” Julie said with a smile.

“Excuse you, this chemistry is all-natural,” Luke rebutted.

“Uh huh.”

“Yeah, let’s give Reggie some credit. He’s not a literal disaster for once.”

“What, like Luke is the first guy I’ve pretended to be with?” Reggie ended up replying, making everyone in the room turn and stare at him. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Alex was the first to break the silence. 

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Reggie said, with a shrug. 

“First of all,” Alex started. 

“You’ve never been to Vegas.” Luke pointed out. 

“When’d you see we were meeting Willie?”

“An hour,” Alex supplied. “You’re lucky I have to get ready.”

“Yeah man, don’t forget to condition your hair.” Reggie yelled as Alex started to walk away. 

“Fuck you Reggie, I know you put hair dye in there.”

“I’m gonna-” Julie said, running after Alex, most likely to tell him where the  _ good  _ conditioner was. 

This left Luke and Reggie alone. 

“So you’ve pretended to date a guy before, huh?” Luke asked. 

“Are we seriously going back to this?” 

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

“What do you want to know? And no, you can’t say everything.”

“How’d it happen?”

“Camp.”

“I see,” Luke said with a nod, and he seemed to. 

After all, anything and everything could happen at camp. 

“Just so you know, I’m sticking with what I said.”

“You know you don’t have to be cryptic, right?” Luke asked. 

“Oh, I do. I just don’t want to not be cryptic.”

“Thanks.”

“Now come on, let’s hype up Alex.”

“Dude, yes!” Luke said, jumping up and hugging Reggie, grabbing his face. “That’s a wonderful idea.”

“Hell yeah it is,” Reggie said, taking hold of Luke’s arm. 

And off the two boys went, to hype Alex up.

While he was in the shower. 

(As they should.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I POSTED!! TWO DAYS LATE!!! AND WENT COMPLETELY OFF OF MY OUTLINE AND INTRODUCED EVERY SHIP I COULD THINK OF. 
> 
> klance almost made its way into this. it was actually in one draft but then i just went 'no' because it didn't work. but anyways, i'm so sorry, this chapter is off the walls. i just think about ruke/luggie/leggie a lot. also julie& alex friendship is the purest thing ever (other than carrie/kayla or carrie & alex friendship). so yeah. 
> 
> (i also have a physics test on the 27th so imma need some of that fucking luck please and thanks)


	6. mr loverman

Believe it or not, Reggie was the one who held up the trio. 

When Reggie said that he liked the occasional bath, he  _ really  _ meant it. 

He also locked the door, leaving Alex and Luke to knock on it while screaming at him to hurry up. 

“That’s the guy  _ you  _ chose,” Alex said, shaking out his wrist that was now sore from knocking. 

“To  _ fake  _ date, get your facts straight.”

“Bold of you to assume anything I do is straight,”

Luke forced a laugh at that. “This guy better be worth it.”

“You’re the one who wanted to meet him.”

“And I still do,”

“Good.”

“It’s just- I hope he’s a good guy.”

“He is.” Alex said, knowing that Luke was about to…

“You deserve a great guy, man. You’re a great guy, and uh, a great drummer. And damn? When you sing, well uh, you should definitely do it more.”

“You’ve said it all before.”

“But not when we were best friends,”

“Well,” Alex said, and the words were in his signature high pitched tone.

“It’s all true man,” Luke said, patting Alex on the shoulder before knocking again. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Enough to pretend to date your best friend to meet Willie.”

Alex was careful not to refer to Willie as his boyfriend.

If he did it would feel too...real. 

And it wasn’t real.

And Alex didn’t want it to be. 

The guy ran him over for fucks sake. Or was it fuck’s sake?

Alex, and Hank Green, would both never know. 

Point being that it was just a  _ fake  _ relationship.

Alex didn’t like Willie and Willie  _ definitely  _ didn’t like Alex. 

Alex was just...Alex. 

Reggie finally walked out of the bathroom. 

Luke looked Reggie up and down a...confused look on his face. 

“ _ That’s  _ what your wearing?”

Oh. That’s what the look was. 

Disgust.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“I think he just expected you to wear something other than the flannel and skinny jeans you wear every single day.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s too late now. Hopefully  _ I _ ’ll be enough to make an impression on Willie.” Luke said, throwing his arms over Alex and Reggie’s shoulders. 

“I thought Willie was the one who had to make an impression on you.” Alex teased, and Luke just squeezed him tighter. 

“We’re late,” Luke said. “So shut up.”

“Okay,” Alex said, and the three walked out. 

Together. 

***

So Willie told Alex that he’d plan the date and it’d be a surprise, and Alex was cool with that because he liked surprises. Not. 

Alex was terrified of surprises, like, really,  _ truly  _ terrified, and yet there he had been. Just nodding along, telling Willie that he trusted him. 

There he was, too. 

Outside of a restaurant...a  _ fancy  _ restaurant. 

Yeah, Reggie was out of place, but so were they. 

At least it was fake?

Yeah. At least it was fake. 

All he had to do was prove that he could flirt, to Luke and Reggie, and call it a day. Bam. Wham. Done. 

Alex had also come up with the idea of rehearsal dates, where Willie would give him tips on how to flirt, like friends did.

Because Alex was almost starting to see that the two of them actually had a lot of potential to become good friends. 

He even found himself forgetting about the unfortunate circumstances of their first meeting. 

Which, for the record, even if Alex refused to admit it, was not  _ that  _ bad. 

Alex wasn’t gonna lie: seeing Willie take off his helmet and  _ look  _ like that was definitely...not unattractive. 

But that wasn’t the point. 

Alex swallowed. 

Right. 

The little voice inside Alex’s head sing-songed, reminding him  _ that  _ was exactly why he played drums. 

So he could stop overthinking. 

Because that was going so fucking well. 

“Hey, hey,” Luke said, his voice bringing Alex back down to earth. 

“Yeah?” Alex answered, pretending he didn’t go into a spiral in his mind. 

“Our table’s reading. Willie’s waiting.”

“Right. Okay. Good. Cool. Let’s go,”

Luke chuckled. “Yep, let’s do it.”

The three walked together, though Alex, being the Gay - don't forget the trademark - he was, walked a little bit faster than Luke and Reggie. 

Mainly to greet Willie and figure out what exactly it was that they were doing at such a fancy place. 

Willie had even gotten a table outside.

And Alex knew this restaurant. 

He passed by it a million times. 

Sure, he barely knew that it existed, but he knew  _ of  _ it. 

Everyone did. It was famous. 

And everyone knew that the best seating was outside. 

And that said best seating was impossible to get. 

But Willie did.

“Wow,” Reggie said, looking around before sitting down. 

“It’s sick, isn’t it?” Willie said. 

“And also like, impossible to get.” Luke added, in just as much shock as Reggie was in. 

“It’s true, I had to call in a couple favours.”

Willie looked right into Alex’s eyes when he said that. 

Alex hoped, in vain, that because Willie was looking into his eyes, he wouldn’t be able to see the blush that crept onto his face. 

Well, not crept. 

Let’s just say the look on Alex’s face would give Amity Blight a run for her money. And that was saying something. 

“So,” Luke started, smirking in the sense of knowing...something at the pair. “How did you know that you liked him?”

“I mean, I’ve always thought drummers are cool,” Willie admitted.

“Hate to break it to you man, but Alex is not cool.” Reggie said, his face not even peering out of the menu he’d grabbed and was looking through. 

“He’s right, it’s true.” Alex admitted. 

Willie shot Alex a smile that definitely did  _ not  _ make Alex feel things. 

“Hey,” Willie said, and it was soft and almost...hurt. 

“Sorry,” Alex couldn’t help but say. 

Luke smirked.  _ Again _ . 

Whatever. It was time for Alex to take his turn. 

To wipe the smirk of Luke’s face and replace it with his own. 

Wait.

Oh, whatever. 

“What about you, Luke? How’d you two end up a couple?”

Luke only plastered on a smile. “We’d been good friends for a while when I just, started noticing things about him. And somehow he did the same.”

Thanks Luke. 

For that vague fucking answer. 

Because that was exactly what happened between Luke and Alex, all the way back  _ before  _ their mysterious disappearance. 

And now it was happening again. 

With Willie. Maybe. No it wasn’t. 

But there was a chance…

No. They were friends and just friends. 

Alex didn’t even know Willie well enough to like him.

There. Perfect. See? There was no way that Alex actually liked Willie, he just liked the  _ idea  _ of him. And the same went for Willie. 

Maybe they’d get a new friend out of it, but that was all. 

“What about you Reggie?” Alex asked, hoping the silence didn’t last too long. “How’d you know that you liked Luke?”

Reggie put the menu down on the the table and Alex could’ve sworn that he saw Reggie blush. 

“I don’t know, it was a combination of things, I guess. His hair is fluffy, his arms are, uh-nice, he never wears shirts that aren’t cut, so that uh, definitely helps, he’s uh-sweet and kind and loving and warm. So, uh, yeah, all that.”

Huh. That had to have been rehearsed. 

Alex glanced over at Luke,  _ really  _ quickly, just to see his reaction. 

Yeah, no, Luke seemed just as surprised as Alex was. 

“Well now I feel bad about my reason,” Willie laughed. 

“Don’t,” Alex said. 

“I can make it up to you,” Willie said, and when Willie gave him  _ those  _ eyes, Alex couldn’t help but wonder how. 

“I’d like to see that,” Luke said, resting his chin on his hands. 

Alex almost rolled his eyes. 

Almost. 

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Willie said, and walked off, a look in his eyes that Alex didn’t quite recognize. 

“He’s  _ whipped _ , man,” Luke said, as soon as he was sure Willie couldn’t hear him. “Did you see him  _ wink  _ at you when he left? I’m getting butterflies from that.” 

Willie didn’t  _ wink  _ at him. Willie didn’t even  _ like  _ him. 

They were just pretending. 

Willie must just be a  _ really  _ good actor.

“Dude, can I please be the best man at your wedding. Like I know you’ve known Luke for longer, and, uh, all that, but  _ please _ .” Reggie  _ begged _ . 

“Uh-wedding?” 

“Yeah man, you heard me.”

“No, we’re just uh, trying things out. I mean, like, I like him. I  _ really  _ do.” Alex gave himself props for how believable he sounded. “But, we’re just uh, kids, you know, we’re just trying things out. I don’t know if it’ll work.”

“I’m sure-” Reggie started, but Luke noticed Willie walking back to them and squeezed Reggie’s hand from under the table, getting him to stop. 

Willie wore a smile on his face, and clapped his hands together. 

“I’d like to introduce you to my boss, and the head of entertainment at this majestic restaurant, Caleb Covington.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this instead of starting the research for my essay due in a week so i hope you enjoy this :)
> 
> feel free to yell at me!!! love you all !!


	7. this love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this chapter while listening to 1989 (deluxe edition) on shuffle, does it show?

Alex could’ve sworn that he knew Caleb from somewhere. 

The problem was that he didn’t know where. The answer was just out of reach, close enough for him to feel it, but much too far for him to grasp it. 

And it was all he could think about, while Caleb was talking.

He couldn’t hear a single word that came out of Caleb’s move. 

And then Caleb was gone.

“I love that guy,” Were the first words he heard.

“I know that guy,” Alex whispered under his breath, quiet enough for only Luke to hear him. “I’ve seen him somewhere before, I  _ swear _ .”

Luke only shrugged. 

“So what’s everyone ordering?” Willie said, and he seemed...different from before. 

He didn’t seem to be the version of himself that Alex had grown to know. 

And that worried Alex. 

Well, everything did, but, this was different. 

He found himself grabbing Willie’s hand, to help comfort and ground him. 

Only because that was what he usually did with Luke, but right now, Luke and Reggie were ‘dating’ and grabbing Luke’s hand in the middle of a  _ double date  _ when they weren’t the ones doing the dating would’ve been a little...you know. 

“Chicken nuggets?” Alex asked. 

Willie let out a chuckle. Now  _ that  _ was more like him. 

Everything was almost falling into place. 

Almost. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about this Caleb guy, so he made a mental note to Google him when they got home. 

Luckily for Alex, Julie had been quick to teach the boys how to use the internet. And more luckily, Alex had been quick to learn how to use it. 

And  _ even  _ more luckily, spending time with Carrie Wilson, his  _ niece _ , though he hadn’t fully conceptualized that yet, who was rich as literal fuck, gave him pretty much unlimited internet access. 

It was almost possible to ignore the fact that his sister and  _ bandmate _ had a thing. He always knew that she’d liked his bandmates, but she’d always expected her to like  _ Luke _ , not Bobby. 

Though, if he was going to  _ actually _ think about it, she probably  _ did  _ have a crush on Luke at some point. He just hoped that it wasn’t when he and Alex were...a thing. He briefly wondered if she’d ever figured it out.

She probably did, knowing her. With all her smarts and sass and deduction skills - which, for the record, came from reading Sherlock Holmes  _ way  _ too young - there was no way for her not to know. 

He missed her, he realized. Being with Luke and Reggie, acting like a couple, and with Willie, he couldn’t help but miss his little sister. 

Alex absentmindedly wondered if she ever tried to figure out what happened to her brother and his friends before getting with Bobby. 

He wondered if she ever got somewhere. He doubted it though. 

If she had, people would’ve been much more surprised to find them thrown twenty-five years into the future. 

He did his best, trying not to imagine his little baby sister crying about her brother - and his two best friends - being announced to be missing and presumed dead, but the bodies never being found. 

He tried not to imagine his sister screaming and crying, asking for answers, asking them to keep looking, asking them to try-

“Alex,” Luke’s hand on his knee under the table was what got him out of his trance. That must’ve not been the best picture for any of them.

“Yeah?” Alex said with a cough, pretending he didn’t get that lost in his own mind. 

“The food’s here.” Reggie said. 

“I ordered the chicken nuggets you wanted,” Willie nearly  _ whispered  _ into Alex’s ear, and suddenly everything felt cold. 

A  _ shiver  _ ran through him as Willie spoke. 

_ That  _ didn’t happen between people who were just friends. Shit. 

“Thanks,” Alex said, hoping his breathing was even enough. 

Alex ate in complete silence, sitting as close to Willie as he could. 

Just for the sake of convincing Luke and Reggie. 

Because those two had always been touchy-feely. 

More so Luke, to be honest. 

His love language was touch, in more ways than one. 

And Alex was more than okay with that. 

Except for when he had to convince his touchy ex-boyfriend that he was dating a guy that he might kinda-sorta have a crush on.

Except for then. 

Alex offered to pay, seemingly forgetting that he had no money, but Willie insisted that he was to pay - after all, he got a  _ workplace discount _ , which left that couple to argue at the table. 

“As fun as it is to watch my favourite married couple, I have to go to the bathroom.” Luke said, standing up as he winked at Alex. 

Alex knew that Willie couldn’t see him, and made a gesture that more or less conveyed  _ what the fuck _ towards Luke, who only shrugged with a smile. Alex couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

“I-I’m gonna go too,” Reggie stood up to follow Luke, but not before literally running into the table, causing it to shake and probably leaving a bruise, on his part. 

That left Willie and Alex alone on  _ their  _ date.

“That went well,” Willie commented, waiting for their server to come by with the bill.

“Yeah,” Alex breathed out, “it did, actually.”

“You’re still nervous,”

“I am,”

“Me telling you not to isn’t going to do anything, is it?”

Alex shook his head.

“What does Luke usually do?”

Alex was taken aback by that. “What?” 

“To help you, I mean. He seemed like he really knew how to help you calm down.”

“Oh uh,” Alex could feel himself blush. “He usually just holds my hand, rubbing his thumb over my palm. It helps my pulse and breathing.”

“That’s smart.”

“It is.” Alex said with a nod.

Why did he nod? He already said yes, he didn’t need to make it a  _ double  _ yes. The nodding just made things weird, probably and-

Willie didn’t seem to notice the nod.

“Hey,” Willie said instead, grabbing Alex’s hands. 

Yep, hands. 

Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t-

Oh fuck. 

What kind of moisturizer did Willie use?

Because his hands were like,  _ soft _ , soft. Wow. 

“It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay,”

“Thanks,” Alex said, but he was sure Willie could tell that his heart wasn’t really in it. Willie could always tell. 

“I mean, you could always up your flirting skills. Like come on, whip out those cheesy pickup lines, I know they’re in there somewhere.”

“What, you want me to  _ practice _ ?” 

“That’s not a bad idea, actually.”

“It isn’t?”

“I mean, it  _ is  _ the whole point of this bet. Your friends think you can’t flirt, so prove them wrong. What’s the point of you having a boyfriend if he can’t help you through things?”

Alex didn’t know what to say to that. 

“Good.”

“Good?” Alex asked, half in shock. 

“I’m paying,” Willie said, and took out his credit card, smiled at the server, and paid the check. 

“Oh fuck you.” Alex said with a smile. 

***

Luke and Reggie didn’t come back from the bathroom. 

Alex made his way over to Carrie’s because he didn’t want to bother Julie. 

He had a lot on his mind and he knew that Julie would ask him to  _ talk  _ about it and he would because it would  _ help _ , but he didn’t need help right then. He needed  _ answers _ . 

And Carrie’s laptop was how he could find them. 

She answered the door in less than a second.

“A bit of warning would’ve been nice,” she said, but he’d already walked inside. “You’re lucky he isn’t home.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know. Probably therapy or some shit like that.” 

“Language,” Alex scolded, though he knew he’d said much worse. 

“You sound like my mom,” Carrie groaned, walking up the stairs to her room. If stomping up the stairs as loudly as she purposefully could qualified as ‘walking’. 

“Same genes baby,” was Alex’s answer.

“I don’t want to think about that.”

“Me neither,” Alex admitted. 

“So what’d you need?” Carrie said, stopping as she sat down on her bed. 

“Your computer. Google. Lots of questions.” 

She nodded. “Can I paint your nails?”

“I’m not good at typing with one hand.” 

“Later then?”

“Of fucking course.”

“Says the guy who told me to watch my language.”

“I’m older,” 

“Uh huh.” 

He didn’t have an account on her laptop - that would be weird - but he did have the password to hers. 

What could he say? They bonded quickly.

Caleb Covington, he remembered. 

He just had to figure out where he’d seen him before. 

And the internet being well, the internet, he knew he’d find something. 

And he did. 

It took one singular Google search. 

Just one. 

He typed in the words ‘Caleb Covington’ and it came up. 

There was a Caleb Covington. 

And he did look  _ exactly  _ like the guy Alex had met that day. 

But he wasn’t listed as a head of entertainment at an exclusive restaurant. He was a magician. Who  _ died _ . 

And the weirdest part?

He died the night before the three of them disappeared. 

Wait. 

Alex just had to be sure of something. 

And yeah, there it was. 

Sunset Curve. 

The band.  _ His  _ band. 

And-

There were articles about them. Full blown articles, ones that they’d never seen before. About them - him, Luke and Reggie. 

And how they  _ died _ . 

Alex couldn’t help but mouth the words. “Holy shi-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wonder what reggie and luke are doing in the bathroom 👀
> 
> if you have any questions about the world building of the story,, let me know!!! i will do my best to answer them, either here or in later chapters (to keep with the flow!!) i want to make sure this is good for y'all!!
> 
> *cracks knuckles* hope you're ready for some angst :')


	8. illicit affairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stream folklore by taylor swift bb !!

Willie. 

That was all that was on his mind. 

Because Willie knew Caleb and Caleb was  _ dead  _ and Alex was dead. 

There was something going on there. 

Alex just  _ knew  _ it. 

Willie, Willie, Wille, Willie, Willie. 

That was all he could think of. 

And then he found him, outside of the restaurant.

“Willie,” Alex called, as soon as he caught sight of the long dark-haired guy, waiting for him to turn around. 

And he did.

“Alex,” Willie whispered, but he seemed distant. 

“Can we talk?” 

Willie just nodded. “I think I can find a minute to talk.” 

“Okay, okay, cool.” 

Willie grabbed Alex’s hand and took him to the side. “Just to make sure no one can overhear us.” 

“Right,” 

“So what’s up?”

“I’m dead. So are my bandmates. Like, we  _ died _ , twenty-five years ago and now we’re, well, I don’t know what we are but we’re  _ back _ .” 

Willie just nodded and Alex kept going. 

“And Caleb’s dead too, I mean, I like, Googled it, or whatever it’s called, and he died right before my bandmates and I did.” 

Something on Willie’s face changed, but Alex couldn’t quite make out what it was. “I’ve got to go,” was all Willie said.

Alex didn’t notice that Willie had still been holding his hand until Willie let go. 

Alex tried to follow him, but Willie had his skateboard and was too fast.

And instead he ran into...him. 

“Hello Alex,” He greeted.

“I was just-”

“Leaving,” Caleb finished for him. 

“Yeah, that.”

“Why don’t you stay for a bit, have some _ fun _ ?”

“No, I’m, uh, good, I’ve got to uh-get, somewhere”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Alex said, but he wasn’t. 

And Caleb, being Caleb could tell. 

“You seem pretty calm for someone who just found out he’s dead.”

Alex didn’t know what to say to that. 

“But don’t worry, I can help.”

“I don’t need  _ your  _ help.”

“Or do you?” Caleb asked, stepping in closer. 

It felt weird. There was still space between the two of them, physically, but Caleb was just too close to him and it was getting into his head. 

And he did not like it  _ one bit _ .

“I know what it’s like to be  _ dead _ , and I know how to thrive. I can help you thrive, if you let me.”

“But you won’t.”

“I can answer all of your questions, everything you’ve  _ ever  _ wanted to know. About being dead, about you. And you can have Willie.”

“Willie isn’t yours to give.” Alex cleared his throat before adding. “Sir.”

“And yet I can,” Caleb paused, to twirl his wrist. “Still take him away.” 

“What do you want from me?”

Alex didn’t know where that wave of confidence came from.

“Me? I don’t want anything  _ from  _ you, not really. I’ve just heard that you’re in a band and we could  _ always _ use some extra entertainment here.” 

“You want us to play? Here?”

“Of course.”

“And you’ll like,  _ pay _ , us?” Alex said, wondering why he was still talking. He brain was telling his mouth to shut up, but it just kept forming words. 

“Something like that,” Caleb said with a smirk. 

“Oh, right, because you said, you’ll like, tell us about us being dead.” 

“Benefits of experience.” Caleb said, sitting on top of an empty table. 

“Right. Well, uh, I’m going to get going now,”

“Have some dead people to see?”

“Alive ones, actually.”

“The living can see you?”

“Can’t they see you?”

“Only when I want them to.”

Alex didn’t say anything. 

“So you’re telling me that you can be seen, like you’re a human?”

“I guess.”

“Interesting, very interesting.”

Alex was growing more uncomfortable by the second. 

“Can they touch you?”

Alex thought back to Willie holding his hand. 

“I mean, yeah. Willie can.”

“Willie doesn’t count.” Caleb started. “He’s dead.”

“H-he’s what?”

Caleb just chuckled his chuckle. One that made Alex shiver in all the weirdest places, and no, not in a good way. “Didn’t he tell you? Willie’s dead. Not alive. A  _ ghost _ .” 

“I have to go,” Alex said, not for the first time.

He ran without looking back, not even to see if Willie was there, hiding and watching them or something like that. 

And he was. 

Willie had seen everything. 

And Caleb had seen him. “Don’t be shy, come, sit.” 

Willie couldn’t say no. He couldn’t  _ ever  _ say no to Caleb fucking Covington. And he hated it. 

“William,” Caleb greeted, and Willie only replied with a curt nod. “You know what I need, don’t you?”

“Always, sir.” 

“And you know how to get it?”

Willie nodded again. 

“And you know what I’ll do to you if you  _ don’t _ .”

At this, Willie’s eyes met Caleb’s. And he looked genuinely scared. 

“I’m taking that as a no.” 

“No, sir.” Willie said, refusing to make eye contact with Caleb. 

“You and what was it - Alex? - look like you’re having fun. It’d be a shame if someone were to take him away from you.” 

“We’re not-” Willie started. 

“I’ve seen the way you look at him, and the way  _ he  _ looks at  _ you _ . The two of you could be great, together, you know. And you’d have an eternity together.” 

“It’s fake,” Willie said, not exactly knowing why. 

He didn’t need to tell Caleb anything, he didn’t have to do anything. 

But he did, and he continued. 

“It’s all fake, we’re barely even friends. You can,” Willie paused, and he himself wasn’t sure what it was out of, “do whatever you want to him. To  _ them _ .” And Caleb just smirked. 

***

Julie and the guys were in the garage studio, practicing.

“Hey, where were you?”

“Clearing up a few things,” Alex said, then turned to face Luke and Reggie in particular. “So did you guys know that we’re dead?”

“W-We’re what?” Alex heard someone say, and he couldn’t tell if it was Luke or Reggie. It was probably both, honestly. 

“Yeah, we  _ died _ in 1995. We’re ghosts, but also, like not.”

Julie wasn’t saying anything, and from a quick glance, Alex could see that she was biting her lip to hold in a scream. 

All he wanted to do was go over there and give her a hug, but he knew that, in those circumstances, that would only make things worse. 

“We’re  _ special _ . We’re not alive, but living people can see us, can  _ touch  _ us.”

“Th-That’s weird.”

“But here’s the thing. Caleb and Willie are  _ dead _ . They’re ghosts, like full-on. And  _ we _ can see them.”

“So you’re like, half-alive, half-dead?” Julie asked, and Alex could hear her steadying her breathing using the technique he taught her. 

It almost made him smile. “I guess, yeah.” He answered. 

“Like zombies!” Reggie announced.

“I’m not su-ok.” Alex said. 

“Wait, hold on a minute,” Luke said, climbing atop the couch - earning him a scolding look for Julie, so he quickly made his way off of it - “if we’re ghosts but also not, that means we’re like, powerful, or something. Because people can’t see ghosts - people can’t see Willie, right?”

“Right,” Alex nodded.

“But people can see us, and  _ we  _ can see ghosts. And we came back when you-” he turned to Julie. “Played our demo. Which means that  _ you’re  _ the reason that we’re special. You brought us back to life-”

“Still don’t think you can call what we have a life-”

“Shut it,” Luke continued. “Because you’re special. You have this amazing power and no I’m not talking about your voice this time.” 

Julie just giggled, clicked her tongue and shot him a set of finger guns. “Thanks man.”

And then she walked off. 

“Give her a minute,” Alex said, stopping Luke from following her. 

“Then I can go after her? He asked, but Alex didn’t answer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow is this dialogue and plot heavy,,,,,and also a lot like the show oops,,,anyways buckle up tight i'm thinking of adding more fluff because yk,,calm before the storm


	9. cruel summer

Alex wasn’t looking for Willie, or at least, that’s what he said. He was just going for a walk, to give them some space. 

Luke was going to talk to Julie - and Alex knew that nothing he said or did would stop him and decided to just give up - while Reggie was going to join Carlos and Ray for a guys night in. 

There were some good things about being seen by humans even though they were technically, and for all legal purposes, dead, and that was one of them. 

But still, Alex bumped into Willie. 

This time at least, it wasn’t physically.

“Hey,” Alex said, trying not to seem too nervous.

Obviously, it didn’t work. Willie seemed to know him to well for that. 

“Hey. Your friends bugging you about another date?” He nudged Alex. “Was I  _ that  _ convincing?” Willie said, with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

“No, uh, I mean you were convincing and all that, but they’re not bugging me about another date. I actually, sort of, kind of wanted to talk to you about Caleb.” 

“Caleb? You want to talk to  _ me _ about Caleb?” 

“Well you’re the one who knows him the best, aren’t you?”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“You’re dead Willie, I know that, he  _ told  _ me.” 

“He told you that I was dead?” Willie asked, and Alex couldn’t quite make out Willie’s tone, but he seemed almost confused.

“Yeah. Why weren’t  _ you  _ the one who told me?”

“I thought that you knew.” 

“That  _ you were dead _ ?”

“Yeah. Usually ghosts can only interact with other ghosts.”

“Ghosts?” 

“Yeah man, like Casper or whatever. You should know this, I mean, I know you’re new to the whole being dead thing but-”

“I’m not a ghost.” Alex interrupted.

“You’re not?” 

“I’m not.”

“Then how could you see me, how can you-” Willie trailed off, and instead of finishing his sentence, he grabbed Alex’s hand, and held it. 

“I don’t know. This Julie girl, the one who found us, actually, made us tangible to the real  _ and  _ ghost world.” 

“That’s some mad power.” Willie said, in some sort of shock. 

“I know,” Alex nodded. “Wait,”

“Yeah?”

“You said that ghosts can usually only interact with other ghosts. But that Carrie girl, the one that’s my niece, and Julie’s old...something. She could see  _ us _ , she could see  _ you _ .”

Willie chuckled at that. “Key words man, key words. Usually. Like Julie, the Wilson’s are special.” 

“The Wilson’s? Like Carrie and Trevor?” 

“Those are the ones.” 

“You-you mean to tell me that  _ my old bandmate _ , who literally stole and recorded the music that Luke wrote, labelling it as his own, without even bothering to  _ mention  _ the band that he was a part of until  _ we literally  _ died, can see us?” Alex said, finally letting go of Willie’s hand to do  _ that thing  _ he did. 

“As far as I’m aware.”

“Rad,” Alex said, already thinking up half developed plans for revenge. 

“Yeah, I guess.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“There’s a reason that some humans are able to see and touch ghosts. And let’s just say that it’s not the most delightful of reasons.” 

“You think that Julie might’ve-”

“Not Julie, no, but maybe-”

“Her mom?”

Willie nodded. 

“But what could her mom have done to give her daughter the ability to not only see ghosts, but make them visible to others?”

“I don’t know,” Willie said. 

Alex took a step back, stumbling over his feet, which Willie seemed to notice. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Willie said, running around to wrap his arms around Alex’s waist, careful to keep him from falling and feeling uncomfortable. “You want to sit down?”

Alex looked down at Willie, “yeah, yeah I’d like that a lot, actually.”

Willie’s arms let go of Alex’s waist, and his hand made his way back into Alex’s, as they walked over to an empty bench on the side of the street. 

***

Willie was very careful to keep the topic of discussion light-hearted, doing his best to not overwhelm Alex. 

Sure, Alex was really cute when he was nervous, but he was also  _ always  _ cute, so it’d be better if Alex didn’t he feel like his (after)life was falling apart at the seams. 

“You haven’t really explored the city, have you?”

“Not in the last twenty-six years, no. Well, we did go to that museum and-” Alex just shivered and didn’t finish what he was saying, but Willie knew that he was talking about the restaurant where they’d met Caleb. 

“Then let’s go,” Willie jumped off the bench they’d been sitting on, pulling lightly on Alex’s hand.

“Go where?” Alex said, his gaze fixed upon Willie’s hand holding his own. 

“I don’t know, man, like anywhere,” 

“What about the Hollywood sign?” 

“Sounds good to me,” 

And then Willie poofed them to the top of the Hollywood sign. 

“I’ve got to say man, I was expecting a bit more.”

Willie chuckled. “Me too,” he coughed, “but hey, uh, there’s still a pretty sweet view, isn’t there?”

Alex was too busy looking off into the distance to notice that Willie was looking right at him. 

“I guess you’re right. And it’s kind of calming too, seeing the world from this point of view,” he looked back at Willie, who blinked, trying to pretend that he hadn’t been staring at Alex, “like it’s just the two of us against the world.” 

Alex gently squeezed Willie’s hand.

“Are  _ you  _ okay? Do you want to stand up?” Alex was the one asking this time. But Willie just shook his head. “Do you just want to talk?”

“No, I don’t know. Maybe!” Willie let go of Alex’s hand. “It’s just Caleb, you know. He’s, he’s dangerous, man, especially when he’s scared. And right now, he’s terrified. I can sense it, I can feel it.”

“Is he scared of us?” 

“Us?” 

“I mean, us, my band. Me, Luke, Reggie.” 

Willie shook his head. 

“He’s scared of Julie,” Alex realized. “But why is he scared of Julie?” 

“You know why, Alex.” Willie’s voice was breaking. 

“And you’re scared of him, why?” 

“Because he’s going to try to hurt you. You, and your bandmates, and Julie. And it’s going to be my fault. If I hadn’t tried to impress you by taking you to him on our stupid fucking date-”

“Don’t,” Alex said, placing his hand on top of Willie’s, not quite holding it. “You said that Julie is powerful, so we can use that against him. He’s scared of her, so we can  _ use  _ that. And then there’s Carrie and Bob- Trevor. You’re not alone.  _ We’re  _ not alone.” 

“And what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet, but we’re going to free you from him.” 

Willie seemed too in shock to answer, so Alex explained. 

“He owns your soul, doesn’t he?”

“H-how’d you know?” 

“I can be smart sometimes,” Alex said, forcing a smile.

“You’re a lot smarter than you think you are,” Willie said.

“I doubt that,” Alex said, and it actually got Willie to smile. 

And then there was silence. They were just two boys sitting on the Hollywood sign, hand over hand, knee touching knee. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> willex be like *holds hands* *goes on dates* haha we're totally friends right,,,nothing more.
> 
> also hi!! im back!! with a chapter!! it's just my two mlm for now but PLEASE if there's any characters from earlier in this fic u wanna see more of, let me know! same goes for dynamics because i'm still working through the kinks of this story :)


	10. i know places

“Where were you?” Julie said, after Alex was late to their band practice. 

“With his  _ boyfriend _ ,” Luke teased.

Julie raised an eyebrow. “That’s new,”

“It is,” Reggie said, “but we’ve already met him.”

Alex hit Reggie for the smug tone in his voice. 

“You’ve met his boyfriend and  _ I  _ haven’t?” Flynn said, standing up out of virtually nowhere. “And I thought that I was your best friend-”

Alex smirked. “Don’t worry Flynn, you’re still my favourite.”

“Good,” she said, giving him a high-five. 

“Hold on,” Julie said, looking between the two of them. “How and  _ when _ did this happen?” 

They just shared a look and shrugged. 

“I’m gay, he’s gay, it just, did, you know.” Flynn explained.

“So you get  _ no  _ guy advice from her and she gets no girl advice from you?” Julie asked.

“That’s why we have you and Luke,” Flynn explained. 

“And Reggie too.” Alex paused. “Sometimes.”

“Hey!” 

“Sorry man, but you kind of can’t flirt.”

“Neither can Luke!”

“He’s got a point,” Julie intervened. “But  _ music _ , remember?”

Right.

Alex would have to explain the whole ‘situation’ to Flynn later.

About him not actually dating the guy that was his so-called boyfriend, and also explaining the fact that both he and said boyfriend were dead. 

He didn’t though, obviously. 

Instead they just talked about high school, which Alex was glad that he graduated early from. It seemed so much harder now than it was in the nineties. 

Flynn told him about her life, and her crushes and everything that she’d probably have confided in Julie. 

“Does Julie know any of this?” He ended up asking, after a long bit of silence. 

Flynn just looked at him, somehow silent while also judging him very loudly. 

“Right,” he said, nodding kind of very awkwardly. 

“We should probably make our way back.” She said. 

“We should,” he echoed.

***

“I-I gotta go,” Alex said, the very second that their practice had ended. 

“He’s gotta see his  _ boyfriend _ ,” Reggie teased.

“Do you think I’d be able to see him?” Julie asked instead of reacting. 

“Maybe, maybe not.” He almost told her that Carrie could, but he remembered them having not been on the best of terms. 

Julie just nodded, and Alex mentally reminded himself to thank her later, for not forcing him to talk about it further. 

“Have fun,” Luke sing-songed as Alex walked out, which resulted in Alex flipping him off. 

And Alex didn’t go to Willie, not like Luke and Reggie thought he would, not right away, at least. 

Instead, he was trying to catch up to Flynn, who’d left Julie’s garage just a few minutes before he did. Flynn had mentioned something about having a lot of homework, Alex remembered. 

“Hey,” he said, having jogged to catch up with her speedy steps. 

“Hi,” Flynn said, falling into line with him. 

“You know how I said I wasn’t sure if Julie could see Willie?” 

“Did you lie?”

“No.” He paused, “I just, I didn’t want to tell her, because of well, you know, reasons, but Carrie can. See Willie, I mean.”

“Carrie, like Carrie Wilson, Carrie? Like Carrie I have-”

“That’s the one,” Alex interrupted as kindly as he could. “Apparently there’s some people who can see ghosts.”

“Like Julie,”

“Like Julie,” Alex said, “but Carrie’s different. Carrie’s dad, or mom, maybe, I don’t know, did  _ something  _ so their bloodline could see ghosts.”

“That sounds exactly like the kind of shit you’d see in a horror movie.”

“That’s what I thought,” 

“What’s wrong?”

Alex knew that Flynn could read him better than he could read himself and didn’t bother lying. “Julie’s mom might’ve done something like that. And it could end up hurting Julie and I don’t want that and-”

“I don’t want it either, but hey, Julie’s powerful, remember?” Flynn said, having stopped walking to grab onto Alex’s shoulders. It worked as well as you’d imagine, given their height difference. “Whatever it is that’s going on, all we need to do is be there  _ for  _ and  _ with  _ Julie, okay?”

“Okay,” Alex nodded, silently cursing himself for overdoing it.

“You’re going to be fine,” Flynn said before turning onto her street. “See you later, drummer boy.”

“See ya,” Alex said with a wave. 

***

Alex wasn’t sure if it took him  _ long  _ to find Willie, he just knew that it took him longer than before to find Willie. 

This time though, they did not  _ literally bump into each other _ . 

Willie saw him from across the street, which was one that Alex didn’t recognize and ran over to him.

“Alex!”

“Willie,” Alex replied, matching Willie’s enthusiasm. 

“What brings you to this part of town?” 

“If I say you, will you laugh at me?” 

Willie chuckled, but grabbed Alex’s hand at the same time. 

“Where’d you wanna go today, drummer boy?” 

There was something about the way Willie said drummer boy that made him  _ feel things _ . He just didn’t know if those things were  _ good  _ just yet. 

Because this was obviously the first time that he was having these, ahem, thoughts in relation to Willie. Of course. 

“There’s this place my band used to play in the 90s-” Alex started.

“Sounds great,” Willie said. 

And there they walked, hand in hand, the whole way. 

They weren’t talking as they walked, but the silence they shared wasn’t awkward, it was comfortable. 

“Tell me more about yourself,”

“I didn’t realize this was an interrogation,” Alex said, motioning for Willie to climb onto the rusty marquee with them. 

“Are you sure this is safe?”

“Since when were you the cautious one?” Alex joked, but he was also genuinely curious.

“Since you took me to a run-down theatre in Hollywood and told me to climb the marquee that’s literally falling apart in front of us.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Alex said, who was now at the top of the marquee, looking down at Willie.

“I’m sure that the  _ regular, slightly more rational you _ could come up with many things,” Willie finally joined Alex on the marquee. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Alex said.

“Not going to lie, this was worth it.” 

“It’s a pretty nice view, isn’t it?” Alex said, and Willie was just looking out at the ghost town, not noticing the way that Alex was watching him. 

“I’d say it’s a little more than pretty nice, but for sure,”

Alex was about to answer, but he noticed Willie rubbing his wrist, right where the stamp was. 

“How long do you think you can be away from Caleb before, you know,” Alex said instead, gesturing to his wrist where the stamp marked the fact that Willie’s soul belonged to Caleb.

“I don’t know, I’ve never really tried to before. Longest I’ve ever really been away is when I’m with you.”

“Wow,”

“Yeah,”

“And your soul is just, like, tethered to the restaurant? Or him, at the restaurant? Or is it chained to like an item on the menu? Is that why the food is so good? Because it uses the  _ souls  _ of people?”

“No, no, it’s, not that.” Willie explained. “I mean, it sort of is, just, the food isn’t made out of anyone’s souls. I think, I hope.”

Alex let out a light chuckle at that, and Willie smiled. “But it’s kind of tethered to him, yeah. I’m not sure how, and it’s never really mattered before, I guess.” 

“I have an idea,”

“I’m not going any higher,” 

“No, not that.”

“You should move into the garage.”

“What?” Willie said, at the same time that voice in Alex’s head did. 

“You’ve been avoiding him, haven’t you?” 

“How’d you know?”

“You’re the one who said I’m a lot smarter than I think I am,” 

“That’s fair.”

“You were antsy when we were walking here, like you were worried that someone was going to find you and you’d get in trouble, and I know it’s not,” Alex paused, lifting up the hand that was holding onto Willie’s, “so it had to be Caleb,”

“You know we’re not-”

“No, I just mean, people might-”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” 

“But, speaking of, my friends still think we’re, you know, and if you’re going to move in, I don’t want them to think we broke up, because then we’d have to like fake anger or whatever, so um, you still up for it?”

“Of course!” Willie said, and he was back to being in that good mood that put Alex in a good mood. 

Sure, he’d now have to pretend to date Willie 24/7, when he moved into the garage with them, but he was sure that it’d be just fine. 

***

Alex wasn’t going to bring a guy home without asking his friends first. And that included Julie, for a couple of reasons. 

First of all, it was literally her garage. Whether or not Julie cared, he wasn’t going to do anything without her explicit permission. 

Second of all, she had quickly become one of her closest friends and he trusted her, in more ways than one. 

Which was why he was going to tell her about Carrie.

It happened one night, when Luke and Reggie had already fallen asleep. He’d seen the light on in Julie’s room and made his way up, sure to knock on the window before coming in. 

Julie gave him a silent nod, and he took it as a yes. 

“Hi,” 

“Hi,” Julie said, turning around in her chair to face him. “You can sit on the bed, if you want,”

“Thank you,” Alex said, and he did. 

“What’s up?” 

“Two things,”

“Shoot,” she said, with a smile. 

“What would you think of Willie moving in? To the garage, I mean. It’s just, there’s this guy and he basically owns Willie’s soul and he tried to take ours too and I just want to keep Willie safe and-”

“As long as you’re dealing with the logistics of it,” Julie said.

“Cool, and uh, nice word,” 

“Thanks, Carlos gave me all of his word of the day stuff. He’s outgrown it, apparently.” Alex couldn’t help but smile at that, because he could  _ hear  _ how much Julie loved her brother in the way she talked about him. 

“Speaking of Carlos, what’s he think of Reg?”

Julie mimed sealing her lips with zipper . “That’s top secret information, little drummer boy.” 

Alex raised his hands up in defeat, “you got me.” 

“You said you had two things to say, and I take it that the Reggie thing wasn’t the second?” 

“It wasn’t, yeah,” Alex said, taking a deep breath. 

“Do you need anything? Water, a blanket?” 

“Yeah, no, no, it’s uh-it’s fine.” 

“Okay,” Julie said. “Can I sit next to you?” 

Alex nodded. 

“So uh, you know how humans can’t usually see ghosts, right?”

“Of course,”

“Well, you’re not the only human who can see ghosts.” 

Julie seemed confused, so Alex continued.

“I mean, there’s another person, someone you  _ know  _ who can see ghosts.” 

“It isn’t Flynn, is it?”

“No, it’s not Flynn, it’s actually Carrie.” 

“The one girl who has it out for me,” Julie whispered. 

“I don’t think-”

“Alex, you don’t understand. She’s made my life a living hell ever since my mom- she’s done some messed up shit, and I can’t just-”

“Look, Julie, I’m sorry, but-” Alex stopped. 

“I’m listening,” Julie said, looking into his eyes. 

“Oh, just, Carrie’s been going through a lot herself. And I know that she’s done some pretty nasty stuff, but she knows it too. And she’s been working on herself. I’ve gone and talked to her, actually.” 

“When?” 

“With Willie, a while ago.”

“And Willie is?”

“My, uh, boyfriend, the guy who you said could move in, so long as I deal with the  _ logistics _ ,” Alex supplied. “Luke and Reggie didn’t tell you?”

Julie shook her head. “I didn’t let them.” 

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“No, but I’m open to it,” Alex just hugged Julie with a smile. “You had a younger sister, didn’t you?” She said, still wrapped in Alex’s embrace. 

“Yeah, actually. She’s, she was Carrie’s mom.”

Julie detached herself from Alex’s embrace. 

“So do you like, have a connection with her? Carrie, I mean?” 

“I think so,” Alex said, “is that a bad thing?”

Julie shook her head. “No, it’s just, it’s a lot to process.”

“Take all the time you need. And chocolate. Actually, take all the chocolate you want.” 

Julie laughed, just a bit. “Thanks, but I don’t think my dad would necessarily approve of that.” 

“Good point,” Alex said, ready to head back to the garage. 

“Good night, Alex,” Julie said.

“Night, Julie,” Alex made his way back down to the guys with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had ideas for notes. and then i forgot them. that's what i get for posting this after one thirty in the morning isn't it.


End file.
